Tuesday, May 27, 2008
358

Wetland plant and macroinvertebrate recovery in reed-dominated stands after herbicide (Habitat®) treatment

Joseph R. Holomuzki, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 1760 University Drive, Mansfield, OH 44906, Robert S. Whyte, Biological and Environmental Sciences, California University of Pennsylvania, 250 University Ave., California, PA 15419, and David M. Klarer, Old Woman Creek NERR, ODNR, Division of Wildlife, 2514 Cleveland Rd. East, Huron, OH 44839.

The invasive grass, Phragmites australis (common reed), is displacing native plant populations in many wetlands along the Laurentian Great Lakes. Habitat homogeneity resulting from reed spread can also lead to within-system declines in faunal diversity. We examine reed abundance and floral diversity in a P. australis-dominated stand in a Lake Erie coastal wetland before and one year after treatment with the imazapyr-containing herbicide, Habitat®. We also compare these same response variables, plus benthic macroinvertebrate diversity, in the herbicide-treated stand to an untreated stand with a mixed plant community. Habitat® reduced reed abundance by ~90% a year after treatment. Vegetational composition changed to a mix of graminoids, sedges, and herbaceous emergent plants, and Shannon diversity (H’) was significantly higher after spraying than before spraying. Even so, plant H’ was still higher in the untreated stand than in the herbicide-treated stand. However, macroinvertebrate H’ was higher in the herbicide-treated stand 1-year post-spraying than in the untreated stand. Phragmites stem density and macroinvertebrate diversity were not correlated, suggesting factors like water level were more important than reed in affecting macroinvertebrate abundance.


Web Page: Phragmites control, biodiversity, Lake Erie coastal wetland

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